Both of Us
by Ariadnerue
Summary: Korra/Asami, oneshot. It had all been so silent and so soft, her touches so careful and so warm, her gaze so loving and so sorry, and Asami couldn't take it anymore. She curled up in Korra's arms and cried.


_Korrasami is canon. Holy. Shit. It's beautiful and perfect and I'll never be over it._

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><p>Immediately following the fight with Kuvira, Korra didn't want to think about rebuilding the city. She didn't want to think about getting all the evacuees back into their homes. She didn't want to think about the new Spirit Portal. She didn't want to think about Kuvira's punishment. She didn't want to think about the Earth Kingdom or the Earth Empire or whatever it was now.<p>

She definitely didn't want to think about whatever bad guy would pick a fight with her next.

She wanted to sleep.

So after a hastily scrounged together meal on Air Temple Island with Tenzin and his kids and Bumi and Kai (who wouldn't leave Jinora's side), Korra went straight to her room. She was a mess, and she was worried, and she was exhausted, and she was hurt, but she forced herself not to care about any of that. She peeled off her torn and filthy clothing and dropped into her bed in nothing but her undergarments.

She was sore all over, bruises all the way down to her bones. She was covered in scratches, itchy with dried blood. Her mind wouldn't shut down, running endlessly over all the events of the day, trying to account for all of her friends. The airbenders were all safe here on the island. Pema and Wu were with the evacuees. Mako and Bolin were in the hospital getting Mako's arm taken care of. The Beifongs were at police headquarters processing Kuvira and her army.

And Asami…

Korra squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Asami was a couple doors down, alone, dealing with the death of her father.

Korra had tried to comfort her. She had asked her if she needed anything, stood steadfast by her side when she heard that his body couldn't be recovered so there was nothing to bury. She had tried to get her to eat something, but if anyone was more exhausted than Korra, it was Asami. She'd gone straight up to her old room on Air Temple Island, and when Korra tried to go after her Tenzin told her to give her some space.

The Avatar sat up abruptly and kicked her legs over the edge of her bed. Korra had wanted to be alone after she was poisoned by Zaheer, but Asami stuck by her side anyway. It was time to return the favor.

So she stood up, threw on a robe from her closet, and marched down the hall without a second thought. She knocked twice, softly, and entered before she got a response.

Asami was sitting up in her bed with her knees drawn up to her chin, silent tears streaming down her face. She was still in the clothes she'd worn all day, right down to her boots, her hair was still tied back, and her tears were leaving trails through the dirt on her face.

Korra closed the door behind her. Asami didn't even glance at her.

The silence was important, Korra knew. So she didn't speak. She just wetted a washcloth in the basin on the dresser and sat down in front of her best friend, reaching forward and gently washing the dirt and tears from her face. She could have used waterbending, but she didn't.

When she was done, she tugged off Asami's boots and socks. Pulled the tie from her hair and combed it out with her fingers. Through all this, Asami never looked at her, never made a sound. The tears kept streaming down her face, but they were clean tears now.

The first time she looked at Korra was when the Avatar held her hand out to her. She took the hint and allowed Korra to pull her to her feet. Her gaze fell away again as Korra carefully went about the task of undressing her. The Avatar blushed just a bit, unable to stop herself from thinking of the other implications of the action, but if Asami noticed she didn't begrudge her the thought. She looked numb, hollow, and every time Korra saw that look in her eyes, her heart twisted painfully in her chest.

So she stripped Asami down to her undergarments and helped her slip into a robe, and Asami sat back down on the bed. Korra stood for a moment, purposefully ignoring the stinging at the back of her eyes. She wouldn't let herself cry. This was Asami's grief and she had no part in it. So instead she climbed into bed at Asami's side and wrapped her arms around her, lying down and dragging the heartbroken girl down with her. Korra pulled the blankets up over them and let out a long breath.

It had all been so silent and so soft, her touches so careful and so warm, her gaze so loving and so sorry, and Asami couldn't take it anymore.

She curled up in Korra's arms and cried.

Korra closed her eyes and bit her lip, wrapping her arms tight around Asami at the sound of her raw, anguished sobs. Asami, in turn, buried her face in Korra's neck and clenched her fists in the fabric of Korra's robe and let herself lose control completely.

She cried until she lost her voice. She cried until she ran out of tears. She cried for her father, she cried for her mother. She cried for her company and her city. She cried for Korra and she cried for herself. She cried and cried, and Korra never once made a sound. Never once let go. And Asami fell asleep in her arms, and in the morning she woke up in exactly the same place.

Korra woke up first. Morning light was filtering through the shutters, making the whole room glow faintly with a dusty golden light. Asami was fast asleep, her face still tucked against Korra's neck and her warm breath fluttering evenly against her skin. She had relinquished her tight grip on Korra's robe during the night, but her hands were still pressed to Korra's stomach. Her knees were bent, one of her legs between Korra's.

Korra bent her head a bit and buried her face in Asami's hair, moving slowly to avoid waking her. She finally looked peaceful, and Korra wasn't about to ruin that by waking her. So she laid there with her, arms still tight around her, and started idly carding her fingers through Asami's hair.

She didn't know how long she lied there like that, pressing the occasional soft kiss to the top of Asami's head, before Asami let out a long sigh and stirred. Korra stilled, worried she'd accidentally woken her, but then Asami lifted her head and met Korra's eyes and Korra forgot everything else and smiled because she even looked beautiful after crying all night.

"Morning," Asami said hoarsely.

"Morning," Korra whispered right back. Asami blinked slowly, taking in her surroundings, and Korra suddenly realized she was still holding her tight in her arms and sliding her fingers through her hair and she blushed in embarrassment. She sat up, carefully pulling Asami up with her before she let go of her and sat back against the headboard. Asami made no comment on her movements, just followed it all with tired eyes.

"You… slept okay?" Korra asked at length. She was bursting with concern, but Asami looked like she might break if she asked her too much too fast.

"Yes, all things considered," Asami sighed, giving Korra a small smile that made her heart pound.

"Do you… do you want me to get you anything?" Korra asked in a rush, sitting up a bit further and pushing the covers from her legs. "If you don't want to leave the room. I can… I can bring you some breakfast, or…"

"No, I'm okay," Asami said gently, placing a hand on Korra's arm to stop her from moving. Korra swallowed hard and nodded.

"Well… just… let me know if you need anything," Korra muttered with an awkward smile. "Or if you want me to go. I mean I kind of just showed up here last night even though you probably just wanted some space-"

"I'm glad you showed up," Asami cut her off again. "Thank you." Korra blushed and smiled down at her lap. Asami sighed a bit. "I mean that, Korra. You didn't have to do what you did, but I really…" She trailed off and Korra glanced over at her. Asami was staring at her arm. She withdrew her hand, eyes going wide. "Korra, you're bleeding."

"Huh?" Korra asked, confused. She looked at her arm and saw one of her cuts from the day before. "Oh, no, that's dry," she said with a shrug. Asami stared at her. "It's fine."

"Korra," Asami demanded, grabbing her wrist and shoving the sleeve of her robe up to her shoulder. She sucked in an alarmed breath at the sight of all the bruises and scratches. "Spirits, Korra, why didn't you say something?"

"It's fine," Korra repeated, trying to tug her sleeve back down. Asami wouldn't let her. Korra gave her a frustrated sigh. "Seriously Asami, I'm just a little sore."

"Of course you are!" Asami blurted. "You stayed with me all night and held me and you were hurt, you idiot!"

"That seems a bit harsh," Korra pointed out teasingly, but Asami glared at her.

"Stay here, I'm going to get some clean bandages and-" Asami began, but Korra moved suddenly, taking a firm grip on both of her wrists and holding her in place on the bed.

"Stop it," Korra demanded quietly. Asami was clearly surprised by the sudden shift in her tone, so she blushed a bit but didn't say anything. "I'm fine, Asami. I'm a healer. I can take care of all this in no time. This?" She gestured to herself quickly. "Is not what is important right now. You are."

"I'm not hurt," Asami muttered defensively, but Korra just frowned at her.

"Let me do this for you," she said softly, and the sincerity in her tone made Asami's breath catch. Korra looped an arm around her waist suddenly, tugging the industrialist to her side. "I'm hurt physically right now, and you're hurt emotionally right now, but that's kind of the way it's always been with us."

"What do you mean?" Asami asked, confused, but she leaned into Korra's side all the same.

"Our paths have been different, but they've been kind of… parallel, if you think about it," Korra said quietly. "We've both been losing things and gaining things back since we met. We've been hurt in different ways, but we've both been hurt. It's not fair to try to… compare our pain. And when I wasn't even strong enough to hold myself up, you…" Korra sighed, blushing a bit as she gave Asami a soft smile. "You lifted up both of us."

"Korra…" Asami murmured, embarrassed, but Korra hushed her gently.

"I'm strong enough now," she said, her voice still quiet but firm. "So this time, I'll lift up both of us. Okay?"

Asami gave Korra a long look. Korra just waited silently, one hand still on Asami's waist, until Asami finally nodded.

"Okay," she sighed. Then she blushed again and buried her face in Korra's neck.

"What?" Korra laughed lightly.

"It's embarrassing…" Asami muttered into the Avatar's skin. "It's just… been a long time since someone has wanted to take care of me, I guess…"

"Well get used to it," Korra whispered, turning her head and pressing a kiss to Asami's hair. She felt her laugh.

"Thank you," Asami murmured, so quietly it was almost lost in Korra's neck.

"Don't thank me," Korra chastised her gently. "I'll never be able to repay you for all you've done for me."

"If we can't compare our pain, then we can't compare what we've done for each other either," Asami muttered crossly, and Korra laughed at that.

"Okay, then you're welcome," she sighed.

They drifted into silence then, and Korra basked in it. It was quiet, and she was comfortable and warm, and she was with Asami, and no one was immediately trying to kill them, and she was with _Asami_.

"Korra," Asami whispered at length. Korra jumped a bit. Enough time had passed that she thought Asami had fallen back to sleep.

"Hmm?" Korra hummed, shifting her face out of Asami's hair as she sat up and looked her in the eyes.

"There's just… there's a lot we need to… talk about," Asami began, sighing as she struggled to find the right words. Korra bit her lip thoughtfully and Asami slid an arm around her waist. The silent, almost sneaky action made the Avatar smile.

"We don't have to do this right now, Asami," the Avatar said gently, reaching up with her free hand and tucking some loose hair behind Asami's ear. "You've been through a lot, and I can wait."

"Really?" Asami replied skeptically. "I mean… I feel like we've needed to have this conversation for more than three years now."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Korra admitted with a small shrug. She met Asami's eyes and held her gaze. "But we have time now, you know? And you're still hurting, and I don't want to rush you."

Asami stared at her in surprised silence long enough to make Korra blush.

"I'm so proud of you," the engineer said suddenly, and Korra blinked at her in confusion. "You've grown so much since we first met."

"We've grown," Korra corrected, and Asami couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of her. She leaned in and pressed her forehead to Asami's, bringing them into a kind of intimate proximity they'd never experienced with each other before.

"We both need to heal," the Avatar whispered, and she felt Asami shiver at the feel of her breath, so warm and close. "And to prove to you I'm not just trying to put off this conversation because I'm scared, I'll tell you this." She locked her gaze onto Asami's again, a gaze so fierce and adoring that Asami forgot to breathe. "I love you, Asami Sato. I don't really know what that means yet, but I'm looking forward to finding out."

Asami stared at her, wide-eyed, for an excruciatingly long few moments before she quirked a smile and tilted her head, bringing their lips together. It was a beautiful kiss, slow and sweet and so perfectly warm that when it eventually finished they just went right back to resting their foreheads together because neither wanted to be any further away.

Two weeks later, they kissed again as they passed into the Spirit World together. And by then, Asami was ready to tell Korra she loved her too.

They would talk about it all eventually. But for now, they were perfectly happy just being together with all the time in the world.


End file.
